Saint Gregory the Great Parish
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SAINT GREGORY THE GREAT PARISH June 29 & 30, 2019 June 29 & 30, 2019 FROM THE DESK OF THE PASTOR We do not know from the passage if the man’s Fa- My Dear Parish Family, ther had even passed away. Jesus was calling him to the We are finally in the heart of Ordinary time. immediacy of the Gospel and the immediacy of ad- Even though Ordinary Time began in the Church dressing the Kingdom of God. All too often we get after Pentecost, our Sundays have been focused on absorbed in the other things, that we place the Gospel very key parts of our Faith, like the Trinity, and the and the Kingdom of God in the back seat of the car. Body and Blood of Christ. This Sunday we celebrate These things may be good and necessary , like caring the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time and we are called for a loved one who is ill, raising a family, or getting a to “not look back.” degree from school and more. The message today is a I recall a 1976 movie, The Gumball Rally, a film simple one: have you allowed something or someone to featuring an eclectic group of people taking part in a become more important than the Gospel or the King- secret and illegal, cross country road race. I recall in dom of God? If so, you need to take time to reflect on your Discipleship. the beginning of the race one of the drivers tore off the rear view mirror from the windshield and threw it Jesus’ call is to place Him first. Do not look in the out the window. The other person in the car asked rear view mirror, be in the now! I believe that Jesus him why he did that and he replied, “What is behind wants us to be like Elisha in 1 Kings:19. This Sunday’s us is not important..” That is a great image and ques- first reading reminds us not to be immediate. Elisha tion for us to ponder. Do you spend more time look- leaves everything behind immediately. Not only does ing in the rear view mirror at past mistakes, missed he leave it behind, he takes it apart as he dismantles his opportunities, sins or even great moments of success, old life of farming. Elisha has nothing in his rear view rather than looking through the windshield of life at mirror. Elisha leaves nothing behind to even tempt him what is yet to come? I fear many spend far too much to go back to an old way of life. time in the rear view mirror which keeps us from moving forward. (Continued on Page 2) The rear view mirror can be one large reason we do not move forward in the life of Faith or generally All Parish Offices will be closed on in life. Similarly, we may be more consumed with Thursday, July 4, for Independence things that we need to take care of first before we fol- Day. We will resume regular hours on low Jesus. In today’s Gospel, Jesus may appear harsh Friday, July 5. Please note there will be only one telling the man who wishes to bury his Father first, Mass on July 4, at 8:00 am. Friday, July 5, will be a “Let the dead bury their dead.” I do not believe that normal Mass schedule. the man was in the middle of a wake or funeral when Jesus spoke these words. CATHOLIC STORE & CAFÉ There will be NO LIVE VIDEO FEED until fur- ther notice while we perform an audio update. The Store and Café will be closed from Thursday, July 4 through Monday, July 8. The Store and Café will reo- Thank you for your patience. pen on Tuesday, July 9. (PASTOR’S ARTICLE CONT.) THE LIFE-CHANGING MES- Why must we leave our old ways behind? Why should we let go of the rear view mirror? FREE- SAGE OF DIVINE MERCY DOM – that is why! St. Paul tells the Galatians in the Completely Trust in Jesus second reading to be free. This week we celebrate Our Lord wants us to know that the graces Independence Day – Freedom. We remember the of His mercy can only be received if we framers of our Constitution and those who signed the trust. Jesus repeatedly reminded St. Fausti- Declaration of Independence as well as those who na of this: The graces of My mercy are fought not only the Revolutionary War, but all those drawn by means of one vessel only, and that is – who have fought for our freedom since 1776. The trust. The more a soul trusts, the more it will re- meaning of true freedom is a constant question for ceive (Diary, 1578). Sooner would heaven and earth our Nation and our Faith. We are often reminded by turn into nothingness than would My mercy not great patriots of our nation that “Freedom isn’t free.” embrace a trusting soul (1777). We are reminded by great saints of our Church that There is more to trust than just believing that God is “Freedom isn’t free.” May great men and women trustworthy. Trust is a living faith. By trusting we have died for our wonderful Nation and many great agree to not dwell on the past or fear the future. We men and women, saints, have died a martyr’s death entrust our entire existence to the providence of God. for living our Faith. This means that we agree that God can write the script of our lives instead of insisting on our own script. We Today, in our culture, there are different under- agree with the pledge we make in the Our Father: standings of freedom. Some would say freedom “Your will (not mine) be done” (DMM 31.) means I can do anything I wish while others believe When we ask with complete trust Jesus fills us with that freedom has parameters and isn’t reckless behav- grace so we can be merciful as our Heavenly Father is ior. What does freedom mean to you both civically merciful. When a soul approaches Me with trust, I and spiritually? Maybe take today’s reading from fill it with an abundance of graces that it cannot Paul’s letter to the Galatians and re-read it and pray contain them within itself, but radiates them to over it to understand freedom. Does your definition other souls (1074). of freedom equate to God’s or is it different? Finally, next weekend, July 6th & 7th, we wel- Thank you Daniel Victoor for your service and come, His Excellency, Archbishop Fortunatus Nwa- inspiration to the 11:00 am Adult Choir! chukwu, Titular Archbishop of Acquaviva and the Best of luck in your new adventure! Apostolic Nuncio of the Antilles Episcopal Confer- ence. He was first ordained a priest on June 17, 1984 and served in the Diocese of Aba (Nigeria). He has served in Holy See Embassies in Ghana, Paraguay, Algeria, at the UN offices and Specialized Institutions in Geneva, and at the Secretariat of State at the Vati- can. Between 2007 and 2012 he was the Chief of Protocol of the Secretariat of State (Vatican). His first assignment as Head of Mission was on Novem- ber 12, 2012 as Apostolic Nuncio in Nicaragua. His Excellency will preach at all of the Masses on the work of the Missions. We will also take our annual mission appeal collection next weekend at all of the Masses to support the Church’s missionary work. We MISSION COLLECTION FOR THE welcome ArchBishop Fortunatus Nwachukwu to St. WEEKEND OF JULY 6 & 7 Gregory the Great. It is an honor for us to welcome an esteemed leader of our universal church. There will be a collection for the Mission Appeal this weekend. Our speaker will be Archbishop Fortunatus May God bless you, our Mother Mary watch over you Nwachukwu, Titular Archbishop of Acquaviva and the and St. Gregory the Great intercede for you, always. Apostolic Nuncio of the Antilles Episcopal Conference. Please mark your calendars. 2 MISSION RETREAT SUNDAY SCRIPTURE READINGS What does Mission Today Thirteenth Sunday/Ordinary Time mean to me? First Reading– 1 Kings 19:16b, 19-21 Mission. What does that Second Reading– Galatians 5:1,13-18 mean? What does it mean Gospel– Luke 9: 51-62 to make it? What does it mean to me as a Catholic Next Fourteenth Sunday/Ordinary Time and struggling disciple of Sunday First Reading– Isaiah 66:10-14c Christ? I was asking my- Second Reading– Galatians 6: 14-18 self all these questions Gospel– Luke 10:1-20 or 10: 1-9 two years ago as I was longing to find greater faith and spir- 21ST ANNUAL GREAT itual meaning in my life. The answer of course is to DINNER AUCTION Go and Find out. Christ had put that thought into my “AN EVENING OF heart. I knew to have grace flow that I also needed to STARS” take some concrete action. The Holy Spirit ended up SAVE THE DATE: pulling me to that Mission - kicking and screaming. I Saturday, November 2, at thought of every excuse not to go, but when my calen- 5:30 pm dar somehow opened up, I received an invite, and the Salvatore’s Italian Gardens window presented myself, I went for what I thought would be just one night to see what it was all about. Gift-Gathering Party Time After that, there was no looking back. From the warm Everyone loves an excuse to party.